Online advertisements are evolving into mini-applications with video, games, and dynamic content that people like enough to embed in their own Web pages and share with others.
These widget ads are not commonplace yet, but they are cropping up more and more, further blurring the line between advertising and content. For some, it will come as an improvement over flashing emoticons, dancing silhouettes, and expandable text boxes that cover up the item you want to read on a page.
Many people are already using desktop widgets, which are small applications that update dynamically and offer a limited function for things like calendar, clock, weather, and news or RSS feeds. Yahoo offers them, as do Microsoft and Google, who call them "gadgets."
Then there are the thousands of widgets on Facebook, things like Slide for photo slide shows and iLike for music recommendations, which have boosted the popularity of the social-networking site.
The interactivity and viral nature of widgets make them attractive to marketers looking for new ways to expand their audience. Brand advertisers are jumping on the widget ad bandwagon at a rapid clip.
This week, Ford will be launching a new online ad campaign using widgets that will run on AOL sites. The widgets advertise Sync, an in-car system that lets you speak commands to use a mobile phone and digital music device. Sync is powered by Microsoft.
The Sync widget ad lets you download a free song or view a number of short humorous videos, and offers more information about the product. You can also grab the widget and embed it into other sites.
"This is an effective way for marketers to share their brand with influencers out there," said Peter Kim, president of Interpolls, which is hosting the Sync widget ads, as well as tracking their performance even as they get passed on to blogs, RSS readers, social networks, and home pages across the Web. "It has to be compelling enough for someone to want to grab it and place it onto their page," he said.
If the Sync widget ad does not grab you, maybe the widget ad for the Warner Brothers film August Rush will. It has photographs, a trailer of the movie, and lets interested viewers find show times for theaters near them, based on their zip codes.
Then there is the Interpolls widget ad for dating site eHarmony that has rotating questions about dating. If your curiosity is piqued, you'll answer the question and a pop-up window will tell you the correct answer (45 marriages each day are "fostered" through eHarmony, according to the widget ad), while offering you a sign-up form for a free personality profile.
Other widget ads let you buy tickets and make other transactions and e-mail the ads around. "These widget ads can help qualify users for clients," Kim said.
Last week, PointRoll launched what it calls SnaggableAds, which are distributed over Clearspring Technologies' Widget Ad Network. These ads can be animated cartoons, videos, and games, such as one similar to Space Invaders.
Real-time feedback
Beyond the viral distribution aspect, marketers are attracted to the tracking and reporting that Interpolls and PointRoll can offer. Interpolls, for example, offers real-time data on how many times and in what way people have interacted with a particular widget ad. It also tracks how many times the ad has been grabbed and where it is been embedded--whether it was in a specific blog, Facebook or iGoogle. The ad companies also track all interactions within the widget ads that have been grabbed.
"We're tracking all the impressions of the ads that were served," said Kim. "Then we track every single response to the question or click to any of the features, as well as any interactions on subsequent panels."
Even Google has gotten in on the act, launching a beta of Google Gadget Ads three months ago. The ads are served on Google's content network, which reaches 800 million people, said Christian Oestlien, product manager of Google Gadget Ads.
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